Delta Air Lines, Inc. $DAL Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,350,966 shares of the transportation company’s stock after selling 28,646 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in Delta Air Lines were worth $93,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in DAL. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Delta Air Lines during the 4th quarter worth $471,532,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 54.8% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,817,783 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $330,159,000 after purchasing an additional 2,058,744 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 23.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 7,661,911 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $434,813,000 after purchasing an additional 1,447,058 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in shares of Delta Air Lines by 16,044.7% during the 3rd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,263,320 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $71,693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,255,495 shares during the period. Finally, Lansdowne Partners UK LLP boosted its position in shares of Delta Air Lines by 47.0% in the 3rd quarter. Lansdowne Partners UK LLP now owns 2,284,257 shares of the transportation company’s stock worth $129,632,000 after buying an additional 730,368 shares in the last quarter. 69.93% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on DAL. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $78.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Rothschild & Co Redburn decreased their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Seaport Research Partners boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $81.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Raymond James Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Delta Air Lines from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-three have given a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Delta Air Lines presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.22.

Delta Air Lines Stock Performance

NYSE DAL opened at $82.54 on Friday. Delta Air Lines, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $45.28 and a fifty-two week high of $83.75. The stock has a market cap of $54.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a fifty day moving average of $69.78 and a 200-day moving average of $67.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54.

Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 8th. The transportation company reported $0.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $14.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.05 billion. Delta Air Lines had a net margin of 6.87% and a return on equity of 20.28%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.46 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Delta Air Lines, Inc. will post 5.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Delta Air Lines Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 4th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 14th will be issued a $0.1875 dividend. This represents a $0.75 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 14th. Delta Air Lines’s dividend payout ratio is 10.93%.

More Delta Air Lines News

Here are the key news stories impacting Delta Air Lines this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Cowen raised its price target on Delta Air Lines (DAL) from $84 to $92 and reiterated a buy rating, signaling stronger confidence in the stock’s upside potential. TD Cowen price target update
• Positive Sentiment: Delta shares have also benefited from improving sentiment across airline stocks as oil prices retreated, which can ease fuel-cost pressure and improve airline margins. Airline stocks rally as oil retreats
• Positive Sentiment: Delta continues to attract favorable commentary after recent reports highlighted analyst upgrades and target increases, helping support the stock’s upward move. Delta stock is up, what you need to know
• Neutral Sentiment: CEO Ed Bastian defended Delta’s choice of Amazon’s in-flight Wi-Fi service over SpaceX Starlink, a strategic decision that could matter competitively but is not an immediate earnings driver. Delta Amazon Wi-Fi article
• Negative Sentiment: Two Delta executives sold shares this week, including EVP Allison Ausband and EVP Alain Bellemare, which can weigh on sentiment even if insider sales are not always a fundamental warning sign. Ausband SEC filing Bellemare SEC filing

Insider Buying and Selling at Delta Air Lines

In other Delta Air Lines news, EVP Alain Bellemare sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.44, for a total value of $2,036,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 95,025 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,738,836. This represents a 20.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Allison C. Ausband sold 9,710 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.00, for a total transaction of $737,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 138,854 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,552,904. This trade represents a 6.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 149,635 shares of company stock worth $10,833,855. Corporate insiders own 0.80% of the company’s stock.

Delta Air Lines Profile

Delta Air Lines is a major U.S.-based global airline that provides scheduled passenger and cargo air transportation, aircraft maintenance and repair services, and related travel products. Its operations include mainline domestic and international passenger services, a branded regional network operating under the Delta Connection name, dedicated air cargo carriage, and in-house maintenance, repair and overhaul through Delta TechOps. Delta offers a range of cabin products for different customer segments, including premium business-class service on long-haul routes and tiered economy offerings on domestic and international flights, and it markets customer loyalty benefits through the SkyMiles frequent-flyer program.

The carrier operates a mixed fleet of narrow- and wide-body aircraft from multiple U.S.